iPod nano “renanoed” with 2.5-inch multitouch display

The big unveil today was the new iPhone 5 in its super-thin casing and sporting a 4-inch 16:9 display. But it wasn’t the only piece of hardware Apple had in line for an update. Both the iPod nano and the iPod touch have seen refreshes too.

This article focuses on the iPad nano, which has taken on a new form. Gone is the watch-friendly design to be replaced with something that looks a lot like a miniature smartphone. It’s the thinnest nano Apple has ever created coming in at 5.4mm thick, that’s 38% thinner than the nano it replaces. It’s light too, weighing just 31 grams.

The display is a new 2.5-inch (240 x 432) 202ppi multitouch widescreen part. Apple has used it for a purpose, and that purpose is to playback video really well. Add to that an FM tuner which has live pause as standard, meaning you can pick up where you left off even for live content. For the live pause and your music you need plenty of storage, so Apple included 16GB.

Other features include a built-in pedometer, Bluetooth, a move to using the new Lightning connector as introduced on the iPhone 5, and a promise that battery life is the longest of any nano released. That translates into 30 hours of music playback or 3.5 hours of video. Recharging is pretty swift too and the nano’s battery reaches 80% in 1.5 hours.